Adapting to the ‘New Normal’: The Future of Retail Management is Here

The retail business in India has always been a profitable venture. Indian retailers have smoothly adapted to customer demands and changing customer attitudes in a country and land of various cultures.

In ancient days, the Vaishyas, essential trader classes, passed their businesses from one generation to another. Even today, that community is still strong and is the life force of the middle-class in India.

Family-run shops or grocery stores, also known as kiranas, are very important to the Indian customer thanks to their convenient location, low prices, longer shop hours and sometimes even home delivery at no extra cost. That is why they have continued to dominate the Indian retail sector.

As one of the oldest businesses in India, the retail industry is a flourishing one. However, today it faces several issues, chief among them the rise of large online players. In such a scenario, the key challenge for a retail business is to continue to stay profitable. Some additional issues include:

• Lack of trained staff
• No opportunities for training employees
• Low skill levels in retail management
• High cost of real estate purchases with regulations
• Need for supply chain and integrated retail management in distribution
• Multiple and complex taxation policies
• Price changes and inflation threats
• Low margins and product obsolescence
• Restriction on growth and scaling up of the business
• Manual methods of updating leading to error and mismanagement
• Operational issues

For a long time, retail in India was somewhere between traditional and digital. However, the pandemic has awoken the retail industry in India to adopt the digital retail format and discover new ways of making profits.

Today, the traditional way of retailing is slowly giving way to modern retail management. The Covid-19 pandemic battered several industries and sectors across the country.

The retail business sector was one of the worst affected. While some neighbourhood stores adapted technology to reach out to their customers through online deliveries, others were left behind.

Digitising retail helped several stores simplify their shop operations and offer a wide range of benefits and features to their customers and eventually helped them grow their business.

Today, going digital is no longer an option. Adopting digital retail management can help you make smarter business decisions and stay relevant for the future.

Due to social restrictions, customers and shoppers today no longer want to enter shops or make purchases through human contact.

Hence, as a retail owner or a small business shop owner, digital retail management can allow you to sell products to your customer and give them a good shopping experience without entering your store.

Even before the pandemic, the retail business sector was growing. During the lockdown, their importance and value grew thanks to their easy accessibility, personalised way of doing business, easy payment options and home delivery to customers.

But, there is still a deep gap between providing convenience to your customers and giving them a good shopping experience.

As India sets foot into the new normal, these neighbourhood shops must maintain the same growth by making intelligent business decisions through digital transformation.

With the pandemic now making it necessary for every business owner to adopt technology, as a small shop owner, you can greatly benefit from the many technological advancements in retail management solutions with less time, effort and cost.

For example, as a retail business owner, you may find that improper stock management is one of the biggest problems you face. Either you may not be having the right shop management software, or your current system of updating through spreadsheets is unable to manage your inventory efficiently.

When you choose a digital retail management software, you will no longer need to use spreadsheets or spend your time, money, and effort following up with shop operations.

Instead, the right retail management software that is extremely easy and simple to understand, low in cost, effortless to implement without the need for training will help you make smart, informed decisions and allow you to focus on growing your business.

Your digital retail management system will allow you to:

• Move to mobile or digital bills from paper bills
• Receive access to real-time data from anywhere through your smartphone
• Recognise non-moving stocks
• Understand which items are profitable
• Audit your inventory
• Get regular stock audits and much more

After all, the success of your shop depends upon effortless inventory management. So, automating stock management can give you a lot of control in how you run your business, serve your customers and increase your profits.

By embracing digital transformation, you can ensure that your retail business becomes more profitable than your average competitor.

Besides, you can also enjoy a higher market valuation and build your financial and business immunity by adopting digital retail solutions today.

In the future, retail stores that continue to stay traditional at heart but rise with a digital footprint will be the core factor in growing retail businesses in India.

When selecting a retail management solution for your shop, look for:

• An end-to-end system that covers every aspect of your shop’s operations
• Inbuilt POS platform
• Customer relationship management or CRM
• In-store and off-line experience functions for your customers
• Inventory management
• Sales management data
• Financial management 
• Operational insight

Technology gives you the power of adding value to your customer experience. When your customers see value in the products and services you offer, it becomes the foundation of profitability for your business.

Providing a wide range of goods, ensuring that stocks are always available, offering several payment modes, digital bills, promotional campaigns and more can ensure that your customer keeps returning to your store.

The right retail management strategy for your omnichannel retail business must give you: 

• Real-time and actionable customer information
• Improved efficiency at the point of sale
• Real-time stock and merchandise management
• Transparent financials 
• Best in security

Stay ahead of the times with digital retail management to better control your customer demand, stock levels, financials, customer behaviour, and more while increasing your profits and growing your business.

From contactless payments, inventory management, online sales, accounting and invoicing and more, the right shop management app will make it easier for you to track your stock levels, sales and profits. 

With Zadinga, you benefit from a one-stop-shop management app that supports omnichannel experiences without the high cost and effort. With a user-friendly interface, you can get an inside view and real-time updates on your shop operations from your smartphone with just a few clicks or swipes.

It’s time to get Zadinga today and benefit from a wide range of features and plenty of easy-to-understand options.